20 It All Adds Up: Creating Additively Manufactured Parts from Traditional Welding

Summary

Limited data on wire arc additive manufacturing systems makes it difficult to evaluate part quality and performance. This project addresses that challenge by working with Los Alamos National Laboratories to develop a low-cost WAAM testbed using a MIG welder integrated with a three-axis CNC system. The platform enables controlled fabrication of metal parts for evaluation. The goal is to assess properties such as strength, corrosion resistance and structural consistency while supporting further development of additive manufacturing processes.